In a dimly lit room of an ancient mansion, only a single candle sat upon the desk, its dim light illuminating half of a man's face as he sat in front of the desk. As the candle flame flickered, the man's face seemed to blur.
His eyes alone, a pair of cold, chilling eyes, were so striking and tremulous that they now stared fixedly in front of him. His hand steadily penned on.
A moment later, he set down the pen.
Suddenly, the candle flame brightened, clearly revealing the man's face—handsome and pale. At a glance, though the man was already in his forties or fifties, he still had a fragile beauty. However, paired with those eyes, the entire temperament of the man shifted.
This man was Zhen Xu, an absolute genius of the Imperial Family Xiang's intelligence department, a formidable figure who made even the head of the intelligence department tremble, and also the person Xiang Guang most admired.
Zhen Xu then pulled out a Square Jade from inside his coat, the jade emitting a soft, colorful light, and it seemed there were some marks on the surface of the Square Jade. Zhen Xu scrutinized these marks and shook his head slightly, "Tongtian Map, so this is the first Tongtian Map. Unfortunately, after half a year, I still have made no progress. Better to give it to the Emperor, most likely he couldn't wait any longer due to my delay."
Zhen Xu took a metal box from the side of the desk and placed both the Secret Letter and Square Jade inside, then covered the box and locked it with a key.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...
Suddenly, Zhen Xu tapped the metal box several times in succession and a clicking sound ensued. Afterwards, the keyhole vanished, operating on the same principle as the iron boxes the Qin Family used to store secret books, making them useless if others didn't know how to open them.
Meanwhile, outside the house, in the center courtyard of the ancient mansion, stood a person wearing a silver mask.
Qin Yu had his eyes closed.
"Tongtian Map." Qin Yu's mind stirred. His miraculous Sensing Power allowed him to sense everything within the house over a dozen meters away, including the specific spots Zhen Xu had tapped on the metal box, all of which Qin Yu remembered precisely.
Qin Yu's soul, enhanced by the Meteor Tear, was powerful enough to rival that of a Cultivator. The strength of his soul granted him miraculous Sensing Power, also known as "Spiritual Sense" of the Cultivators. As his soul grew stronger, his Spiritual Sense's coverage would also expand.
Qin Yu moved so silently that not even a whisper of wind stirred. At this moment, he held his breath completely. For a time, Zhen Xu inside didn't know Qin Yu was outside.
"Little brother, immediately take this metal box to the palace; you must hurry. Keep this key well hidden. This box contains the Tongtian Map, and we can't be careless," Zhen Xu suddenly said.
Out of a dark corner, a man who seemed as young as a teenager walked out, but Zhen Xu knew that this seemingly young man was already over forty and had followed him for more than twenty years.
Two generals under Zhen Xu—Nolan Feng, Nolan Dan.
The Nolan siblings were oddly youthful. Although both were in their forties, they still looked like a young boy and girl, which they guessed was probably due to a type of Spiritual Fruit they had consumed in their younger years. The Nolan siblings obeyed only Zhen Xu's commands, even disregarding Emperor Xiang Guang.
"Big Brother, don't worry. I'll link this key with my keychain," Nolan Feng took out a string of keys, and then threaded the metal box key among them. Suddenly, Nolan Feng took another key from the keychain, his action appearing quite solemn, which he placed against his chest.
"Little brother, you are always like this," Zhen Xu said with a slight smile.
Nolan Feng raised an eyebrow, "Big Brother, it's better to be safe than sorry. Even if someone kills me, they would definitely think the key at my chest is the one while not realizing the real key is on this keychain. Moreover... this keychain will be kept on my subordinate."
"Feng, you always think you're clever," a serene, cold voice chimed in as an aloof woman walked out from a dark corner of the room, her tongue licking her palm, within which was...
"Heart." Outside the house, Qin Yu's figure suddenly shook, and a fierce light flashed through his eyes as his Spiritual Sense clearly saw what was in the woman's palm.
A very small heart, probably not that of an adult.
Nolan Feng slightly furrowed his brows and said, "Dan, can you change your habits? Even if you eat baby hearts, can't you avoid doing it in front of us? I've told you for who knows how many years, and it's been no use."
"Knowing it's useless and still saying it, moreover, saying it for so many years, for over twenty years, you seem to have never stopped, Feng, you are really boring," Nolan Dan coldly said.
"Friend, coming to my place in the dead of night, what brings you here?" Zhen Xu suddenly said indifferently, his voice clear and spreading throughout the entire house. However, strangely, all the other servants in the house seemed as if dead in sleep, none stirred.
Qin Yu slightly smiled, his breath had become disordered due to the shock of discovering the baby heart in the woman's palm through his Spiritual Sense, leading Zhen Xu to notice him.
"What brings me here? I am a Heavenly Net assassin," Qin Yu said indifferently. He undertook assassination missions, but never from the shadows; he always killed his targets openly, and this time was no exception. Although Qin Yu noticed that both Nolan Feng and Nolan Dan were Innate Experts.
"Boom!"
The door suddenly burst open, a black light soared into the sky and then landed in the middle of the courtyard, a young man dressed in black. At the same time, another black light soared, landing next to the youth in black, a young woman also dressed in black.
Then, a pale, handsome middle-aged man in white slowly walked out, looking quite frail at first glance. However, with his chilling eyes, he seemed as cold as a lone wolf, striking fear in the heart.
"A Silver-level Killer?" Zhen Xu slightly frowned as he looked at Qin Yu.
"To be precise, the Silver-level Killer Liu Xing," Qin Yu replied indifferently. Qin Yu never minded disclosing his assassin name to his targets; after all, killing them meant letting them know who had taken their lives, right?
"Liu Xing?" Zhen Xu's mouth quirked slightly, "Daring to come and kill me, and having been in the courtyard so long without my notice, you must be an Innate Expert. However, it's strange, I can't see through you," Zhen Xu said, somewhat surprised.
Qin Yu glanced at the Nolan siblings, then at Zhen Xu, and said, "I am also surprised that a mere intelligence leader of the Eastern Domain Three Prefectures being an Innate Expert is commendable enough, but to have two more Innate Experts under him? The entire Chu Dynasty has no more than a hundred Innate Experts, and here you have three."
"You talk too much," Nolan Dan suddenly said, "Assassins shouldn't be so chatty."
"Assassins also shouldn't kill so openly, right? Little lady who likes eating baby hearts," Qin Yu smiled, "Oh, right, your actual age must exceed that normally appropriate for 'little lady.' Perhaps I should call you 'aunt' instead."
Nolan Dan's face instantly changed colors; she hated when someone mentioned her true age.
Qin Yu glanced at the open door to the house, knowing that there was an iron box with the Tongtian Map on the desk inside. Of course, to obtain the Tongtian Map, he would have to kill the three people before him, who were all Innate Experts.
Nolan Dan looked at Zhen Xu, who slightly nodded.
"An assassin named Liu Xing, is it? Pity, the life of a meteor is always very brief," Nolan Dan sneered, then her figure moved, she surged around Qin Yu like a cold breeze, suddenly there were several afterimages surrounding Qin Yu.
This was Qin Yu's first time engaging in a life or death battle with Innate Experts, with two more watching from the sidelines.